Summer Olympic Games

The Summer Olympic Games are an international multi-sport event held every four years, organised by the International Olympic Committee. The Olympics are the most prestigious of such events in the world, featuring a larger range of sports than others. Olympic victory is widely considered to be the most prestigious achievement in sports. Medals are awarded in each event, with gold for first place, silver for second and bronze for third, a tradition which started in 1904.

Related Topics:
Multi-sport event - International Olympic Committee - Gold - Silver - Bronze

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Competitors are entered by a National Olympic Committee (NOC) to represent their country of citizenship. National anthems and flags accompany the medal ceremonies, and tables showing the number of medals won by each country are widely used. In general only recognised nations are represented, but a few non-sovereign countries are allowed to take part. The special case of Taiwan was handled by having it compete as Chinese Taipei, to avoid the issue of Taiwanese independence.

Related Topics:
National Olympic Committee - NOC - Country - National anthem - Flags - Taiwan - Chinese Taipei

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Though the most diverse sporting event in the world, the Olympics are perhaps not the most popular. The football World Cup attracts more global interest, as measured by the larger television audience.

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